For Immediate Release – April 29, 2024

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Friendly City’s popular Rocktown Trails at Hillandale Park recently received a facelift and enhancement thanks to an effort spearheaded by Harrisonburg Tourism.

Work is now complete on an effort that resurfaced more than 5,000 feet of trail, added approximately 1,700 feet of new trail, raised the pump track six to 12 inches and reconstructed and realigned the Powerline Trail in numerous places. The project, a collaboration between Harrisonburg Tourism, Harrisonburg Parks & Recreation and the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC), was funded through a $20,000 Virginia Tourism Corporation Drive 2.0 grant and an additional $10,000 from Harrisonburg Parks & Rec.

SVBC, which identified the need for trail resurfacing and expansion, provided extensive experience in creating and maintaining cycling trails in addition to numerous volunteer hours. Rugged Trails, led by Sam Skidmore, was brought in to facilitate the project.

“Improving our local trails is important for both community members and visitors, and is part of our long-term outdoor recreation marketing strategy,” Harrisonburg Tourism Manager Jennifer Bell explained. Harrisonburg Tourism has focused on the outdoor recreation traveler in recent years as a key target market and audience segment.

Outdoor recreation contributed $9.4 billion to Virginia’s economy in 2021, supporting 107,000 jobs and $4.8 billion in wages and salaries according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The DRIVE Outdoor grant behind this project builds on VTC’s DRIVE 2.0 Statewide Strategic Plan to enhance outdoor recreational development, assets and entrepreneurial opportunities within Virginia. Following participation in the program, Harrisonburg received the foundation for a competitive outdoor product development plan, including specific action steps, success factors, timelines, priorities and identified partners to help with project success. This led to the Rocktown Trails project. To learn more about VTC’s DRIVE Outdoor, visit the VTC DRIVE Outdoor webpage.

The City of Harrisonburg is centrally located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It is home to approximately 55,990 people. More information about the City of Harrisonburg is online. 

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Contact: Jennifer Bell, Harrisonburg Tourism Manager
Jennifer.Bell@harrisonburgva.gov